Plot Bunnies
by Forgotten Conscience
Summary: A collection of Plot Bunnies that I have written featuring various characters from the show and a few crossovers
1. About That Night

**About That Night**

 _Ugh... my head..._

I shift on the bed and my head stings even worse.

 _Why the hell did I drink so much last night? I probably should've learned my lesson from the night I got drunk and went cave-slayer. But apparently I didn't. It was just we were having so much fun together, and I didn't want to spoil the mood. So I had a couple drinks with the gang, it was fun. Then I had a few more. And then..._

My head throbs as I lift my head and rub the sleep out of my eyes to wake up.

 _And then I don't remember what happened. Everything's a blur. There were drinks and dancing and lots of fun but it's all blurred together, almost like it never even happened. Well, whatever happened, I'm sure that it wasn't that bad._

With one hand, I pull myself up off the bed slightly and cold air hits my skin... all of my skin. Looking down at my body, I suddenly realize that I'm naked.

 _Oh god..._

I drop back down on my bed and grab the sheets, covering myself up.

 _What the heck happened last night? How did I end up naked? Where am I?_

I look up at where I am and realize I'm in my dorm room.

 _Okay, so I'm home. At least I'm not waking up with a massive hangover in some strange place I've never seen before. That would make this whole thing so much worse. But why am I naked? When did I find time to take my clothes off between drinking and passing out?_

Then I hear something that makes this whole situation so much worse, a moan from next to me on the bed.

 _Oh this is so not a good sign. What the hell did I do last night and who did I do it with?_

My hand runs itself through my hair and I try to calm my suddenly steadily climbing heartbeat. Then I look over at the person next to me and my heart stops for a second before racing like a speed demon.

 _Oh my god..._

Willow rolls over onto her back as she wakes up and our eyes meet when she opens her eyes. Suddenly I feel like a deer caught in headlights when the same shock and confusion that I'm feeling gets plastered all over her face. She's the first to speak.

"Buffy?"

Despite the fact that I'm still in shock from finding myself in this situation, I feel like I have to say something back.

"Uh, yeah, hey Will..."

A long moment of silence passes between us and I can see all sorts of confusing thoughts running through her head.

"What... what are you doing here?"

It takes me a second to answer.

"Umm, honestly? I, I don't know. I just woke up a second ago."

She sits up slightly but grabs her head with a grimace.

"Oh, my head..."

 _Well at least I know I'm not alone in the throbbing headache department._

"Yeah I know the feeling."

"How... how did we get here?"

 _If only I knew the answer._

"Not a clue."

She rubs her head uncomfortably.

"So... if I asked you what happened last night, would you have an answer for that question?"

All I can do is shake my head as little as possible in response to keep the throbbing in my skull to a minimum.

"Great..."

She sits up, taking the covers off me slightly and exposing the naked skin of my back. Willow looks over at me and notices my nakedness.

"Oh my god... Buffy, you're naked."

I turn around on the bed and lie back, holding the covers to me as much as I can.

"Yeah, I did actually notice that."

My best friend/roommate pulls the covers off of her for a second to look down at her body. She gets wide-eyed.

"Oh my god... I'm naked."

 _Even if I did have a response to that I'm not sure I'd have the guts to say it._

"How did we end up naked in the same bed?"

"No idea..."

We stay silent for a while and she stares down at the end of the bed, the same place I'm staring.

"What, happened last night?"

"I wish I knew... everything kinda hazy. You don't remember anything?"

Our eyes meet briefly but Willow looks away quickly. She concentrates for a second before shaking her head.

"Nope... I'm having the same problem, haziness."

 _All right, then I guess we don't have to worry about it._

"Well, maybe... nothing happened."

"You think?"

 _I know that this is a bad idea, but I really don't want to deal with this right now and I do have a point._

"Yeah... if we can't remember it, then it probably didn't happen."

She looks at me with a questioning look.

"I guess..."

 _Okay, this works._

"All right, well, I think I have class so I'm gonna get up."

We lie there for a while in silence.

 _I know I should get up and go but for some reason I don't want to get up because then Willow will see me naked, and for some reason that bothers me._

"You gonna get up?"

"Uh, yeah... any second now... but uh, could you, not look?"

She looks at me curiously for a second.

"Sure..."

She looks away from me. When I'm sure she's not gonna look, I kick the covers off me and get up. Walking quickly over to my dresser, I open it and grab my night shirt, putting it on as quickly as I can. Then I turn back to her and she's still looking away.

"Okay..."

Willow tentatively looks at me.

"Umm, I'm gonna go... take a shower."

"Okay..."

I pick up my towel and head for the door like a bolt.

"See ya in a bit."

I don't even wait for her to answer back when I leave.

...


	2. Stranger Down The Hall

**A Stranger down the Hall**

 _I can't sleep..._

Turning over in the bed, I try to get comfortable against the hard mattress.

 _I've never been able to sleep comfortably in a bed that's not mine. I don't know that I'll ever get to sleep again. Not with everything that's happened. I'm so alone in my own town. My mother is across town in our house and I'm not allowed to be there. She kicked me out last week after I came home from Los Angeles and ever since then I haven't been able to sleep._

 _I know she had every right to be mad at me for taking off six months ago, but I never thought for a second that she wouldn't welcome me back when I came home. But she didn't. She let me stay that first night and then kicked me out the next day. I never saw it coming. I can still remember what she said. It's been burned into my memory ever since it happened._

 _"I'm sorry Buffy, but I can't let you stay here."_

 _The words hit my ears and I almost didn't want to believe them._

 _"What? Why?"_

 _She took a deep breath and explained._

 _"What kind of mother would I be if I just let you waltz back in here after disappearing for six months? Without so much as a word as to whether you were okay? I was worried about you Buffy. You disappeared and all I had left of you was the note you left for me on your bed. You didn't call, you didn't write. For all I knew you were lying face down in a ditch somewhere and bleeding to death."_

 _"I... I know, and… I'm sorry about that mom. I should've called or something. And I tried to. But every time I tried, I didn't know what I'd say."_

 _"How about I'm sorry but I'm okay and I'll be home soon? That's all it would've taken. But you didn't even think to do that. You were selfish and inconsiderate."_

 _"I, I'm sorry..."_

 _There was a stern look on her face that I'd never seen before._

 _"Sorry isn't going to cut it anymore young lady. You need to learn a lesson in taking responsibility for your actions. And I know that if you stay here, you won't learn that lesson."_

 _I had no words to express how I felt when she said that. My own mother was throwing me out on the streets._

 _"So I'm asking you to go."_

 _Tears sting my eyes when I hear her say that._

 _"You're kicking me out?"_

 _She stands firmly in front of me._

 _"It's the only way you'll learn."_

 _"Where am I supposed to go?"_

 _"That's your decision to make Buffy. You're a grown woman and what you do is your choice. If you want to run away again, you can do that. But if you stay in town, I hope that one day we can work things out. It's your choice. For now though, I have to ask you to leave."_

 _And now I'm alone. Trying my best to sleep on a hard mattress and a pillow that might as well not be there at all it's so thin, in a crusty motel room with no air conditioning on a hot night. Thank god I had a little money left over from my waitress job in L.A. Otherwise I'd be sleeping on the streets tonight. The money won't last more than a week and I don't have anyone I can count on to help me._

 _Giles and my mother talked about what would happen if I ever came back and he agrees. He won't put me up any more than my mother will. Xander, Willow and Oz are all still mad at me for disappearing for all those months. And I'd rather go back to hell than ask Cordy for a place to stay. Not that she would even if I asked her. I really am completely alone._

I sit up on the bed and wipe the sweat off my forehead.

 _God, I hate this. I need something to drink or I'm never going to get to bed._

Looking over at the dirty glass on my bedside table, I notice it's empty.

 _I don't think I could drink water out of that thing again. I think there's a vending machine a few doors down, I'm sure they'll have something I could drink that won't make me sick._

The thin sheet I cover myself with is thrown off me quickly and I get up out of bed. Not bothering to put my pants on, I head straight for the door and grab a couple of dollars on the way. I let the door close behind me, leaving it unlocked as I look left and right down what passes for a hallway in this place. When I spot it a few doors down on the left, I make my way there. I stand in front of the poor excuse for a vending machine that barely has anything left in it. Just then, I hear the sounds of people coming this way. Happy sounds...

 _How can anyone be happy when they live in a place like this? It's a fleabag, barely worth the measly eight dollars a night they charge for it. Then again, I'm guessing that most people who come here don't spend more than one night here, if that, which gives it an even more charming appeal. My place in L.A. was better than this. Maybe only barely, but it was still better._

The sounds get louder and I look to my left at two people making their way to the room next to the vending machine. One of them is a tall brown haired man, kinda cute and he obviously works out. He's wearing a tight, navy blue t-shirt and a pair of jeans. His hair is all messy and I don't think he's shaved in a couple days. He's got the bad boy image written all over him.

The other is a young brunette woman who I think lives here. I think I've seen her around a couple times since I moved in here. She looks about my age but it's hard to tell because she wears a lot of make up in a kind of gothic style. Her clothes consist of an equally tight t-shirt and a pair of red leather pants. They get up to the door and I avoid staring at them as the guy shoves the girl up against the door and starts kissing her passionately. Not that she minds in the slightest when she kisses him back.

 _Okay, either they don't know that I'm five feet away from them or they don't care._

She moans as he starts to kiss her neck. Rather than listen to them any longer, I slip my dollar into the machine and press the button for the diet orange pop that's the only thing still in stock at this time of night. Taking the pop out of the machine, I turn and walk away back to my motel room.

 _Could my life be any worse?_

...


	3. Scythe Matters

**Scythe Matters**

 _It's a beautiful thing._

Sitting in my room, I stare down at the scythe. It lies there a few inches away from me on my bed in all its glory.

 _Such a beautiful and powerful weapon, we've all felt it. The other slayers always love it when I let them use it in training exercises and things. Their confidence levels go up a million degrees when they get their hands on it. Of course, I don't let them use it on each other. That would just be massively unfair. Sometimes we bring vamps into the gym, most of them chained up to keep them from hurting anyone important. I let them use it on the undead when we can._

 _I know exactly how they feel. Every time I pick it up, I just know I'm gonna kill something big and deadly. It's a good feeling. There's a good chance that they feel the same way. Not that they actually get to use it on anything big and deadly. I'm the only one who gets to test it in the field. Any time there's a demon in town somewhere, I break it out and do some serious damage on whatever thinks it can move in and take over._

 _Okay so, Faith uses it too sometimes. But that's only because we're the slayers with the most experience. We both know how to use it without poking someone's eye out or anything like that. Not all of the girls have enough experience to really handle it properly. They're still getting used to the speed and the strength that comes with being a slayer. Faith and I figured out how to use our powers years ago and we've been getting better at it ever since._

 _I've kept it hidden the past couple weeks though. The last few times I brought it out, some of the girls got into a fight over who deserves to be the first to train with it. It was a little insane. We barely had enough time to stop an all out brawl because of it. I can't have something like that happening when we're trying to train them. They have to learn to work together or this whole army of slayers thing isn't going to work. It'll just end up being one dangerous fight after another until they go nuts. That's not what being a slayer is about, not anymore._

 _Being a slayer doesn't have to be a lonely thing anymore. They don't have to be alone with the world on their shoulders. All these girls have each other to lean on when things get tough. If they have that, there's nothing they can't face. The only problem is they don't seem to want to learn that without kicking the crap out of each other. It's frustrating as hell. But I think I can get them in line eventually, without getting kicked out of my own house and nearly getting killed repeatedly this time._

As I sit comfortably on my bed, I notice something strange. Suddenly, the scythe starts shaking ever so slightly in front of me.

 _What the hell?_

The strength of the shaking keeps building slowly and it starts to freak me out so I reach out and touch the scythe to grab it. When my fingers touch the metal it stops.

 _I've never seen it shake before. Why was it shaking?_

Wrapping my hand around the main handle of the scythe I don't feel a single tremor from it at all.

 _Hmm, must have been a small earthquake or something. It's really strange to see that, but then my life has never been exactly normal._

I let go of the scythe and let it lie on the bed again. The second I let go, it starts shaking again, except this time the shaking gets worse faster. Before the shaking gets too bad, I reach out and grab it firmly. Not a single movement happens as soon as I touch the metal of the scythe.

 _What the heck is going on?_

Just then, someone knocks on the door.

 _Someone else should see this._

"Come in..."

With the scythe still in my hand, I look up to the door as it opens and see Faith break the threshold of my door.

"Hey B..."

"Hey Faith, check this out."

She looks at me. I set the scythe down on my bed again and pull my hand away. Nothing happens…

"Check what out B? You?"

We lock eyes and she's got that shit eating grin of hers on her face.

"No offense B, I mean you're hot and all, but when you said 'check this out', I was expecting something a little more interesting than nothing."

 _Why does she always have to make those kinds of comments? I'm never quite sure what to think about them. And why didn't the scythe do anything? It's just sitting there._

Looking down at the scythe, I don't know what to do.

"It was..."

My eyes meet Faith's again and she's got a confused look on her face like I've grown an extra head.

 _Maybe I was just imagining things. It never shook before and it doesn't seem to be doing anything now._

"Nothing, it was probably just my imagination. What's up?"

Faith throws her thumb over her shoulder towards the open door.

"The next training session's about to start, Giles sent me to come get you since you apparently forgot."

"I didn't forget, I was just..."

I look at the scythe again for a second before picking it up. Quickly, I get to my feet and head over to my magically enchanted weapons chest.

"It's not important. I'm coming. I'll just be a second."

"All right... I'll see ya there."

Faith turns around and leaves my room as I open the chest with my hand print and set the scythe down inside.

"Okay..."

 _This chest is so cool. Willow enchanted it to make sure that I could keep the scythe in it without having to worry about anyone taking it. It's set to my specific magical aura, which apparently can't be faked. Plus, the chest itself is magically secured to the floor so if anyone wanted to take the chest it would become invisible until whoever it was left and I came into the room. Having the most powerful witch in the western hemisphere as your best friend has its advantages._

Slamming the chest closed, I make sure it's locked on it's own before I turn and head for the door.

 _Time to get into teaching mode..._

...


	4. Babel

**Babel**

We all sit around the conference room together, trying to figure out exactly what to do about this situation.

 _God this is a disaster. It's almost as bad as when we couldn't speak at all, if not worse. No one can say anything and have it make sense. There isn't even any way that we can write out what we want to say and have it make sense. It all just comes out as gibberish in a can to anyone besides the person who writes it. A few of the girls have even gotten into fights because they can't tell someone what they want to say or do._

 _And breaking up a fight like that isn't exactly an easy task either. Body language can only go so far before you start to piss people off. Mostly because when you're trying to break up a fight, you tend to come off as very aggressive and that only leads to badness. These girls are still trying to come to terms with all the new feelings and powers that they've been given. Sometimes they need to let off steam at the most inappropriate times, and when I start yelling at them and breaking up the fights, some of them feel the overwhelming need to challenge my authority for no good reason._

 _It doesn't exactly help diffuse a situation to have someone who isn't even part of the fight attack the referee out of some mixed signals that they don't understand and no one can explain to them because of what's going on. We're doing our best though, trying to keep the girls in line. So far there have only been some minor fights, nothing that's gotten anyone seriously hurt. But that could change, and fast, if we don't figure out a way to fix this situation soon._

 _How are we supposed to do that when we can't even communicate what we need to do to fix it? It's insane. There's only so much you can do with Pictionary before it becomes a slow and confusing process that people understand less and less. The game was never a favorite of mine and now we're trying to use it to save the world. Not exactly the easiest thing to do._

Looking over at Faith sitting next to me, I let out a deep sigh. She looks in my direction and smiles sadly at me. I reach out and put my hand on hers, getting some comfort from her, when she turns her hand in mine and squeezes gently.

 _The strangest thing about this whole situation though has to be the two of us. Even with all the chaos and craziness of what's happening right now, we've somehow managed to realize our feelings for each other and express them. It wasn't exactly ideal, I don't usually like to jump right into bed with someone before getting to know them first, go on a few dates maybe, but somehow it just seemed to make sense. With everything that's going on, we both needed some comfort, and we found it in each other._

 _But it's not like we don't know each other at all though. We've known each other for years. I've seen her at her worst, and she's seen me at mine. So we're not strangers or anything like that. But I definitely never saw us as any kind of a couple in all the time we've known each other. We've been friends, and mortal enemies, but never anything like this. Of course, I don't really know what this is exactly. If I could talk to her and let her know what I'm thinking and feeling then maybe I could figure out where she sees this going, because I honestly don't have any clue. It just sort've happened and I'm not sure how to deal with it._

 _Anything I say to Faith will just come out as gibberish though since she can't understand what I'm saying. Heck, I don't even know what I'm saying when I say it. And I'm the one saying it. Not even Willow or Giles understands what anyone is saying. Giles speaks five living languages and about three or four dead ones from what I remember. But not even he understands what people are saying. Willow tried a couple of spells I think to see if she could fix the problem somehow, but nothing has worked. It's like even if we could understand what each other was thinking, that thing would just create a whole new language that no one's ever heard before to confuse the hell out of us._

 _I heard stories about the tower over the years, and even read about it in a few of the books I read through during the Sunnydale years, but I never thought anyone would be crazy enough to actually do it. To raise something like that isn't exactly an easy task. Even to try it you have to figure out where it is and what I read said that no one has ever been able to narrow down it's exact location, despite the fact that some of the most brilliant minds in the world over the centuries have tried to figure it out. And somehow, someone managed to. This is a disaster._

"Everybody, listen up." (German)

Everyone at the table looks at Giles who is speaking some strange language. He points at the pictures on the whiteboard that he's drawn and we all try to figure out what they mean. Xander sounds a little frustrated as he answers.

"I don't understand." (Spanish)

Giles hits the screen with his hand gently pointing to one particular picture which I think is the starting point. It's a picture of a couple stick figure girls on it. There's an arrow pointing to the next picture we're supposed to follow. My watcher speaks as he tries to get us to follow along.

"We need to get the slayers together." (German)

Then he moves to the next picture and points to it. In that picture, is a picture of a couple of demon-y looking people.

 _I'm guessing that means the demons that figured out how to raise the tower._

He points to the next picture and the demons are all gathered around what looks like a fair approximation of a huge tower in the middle of nowhere.

"The demons are gathering around the tower." (German)

After the demons with the tower, there's a picture of the stick figure girls running with sticks and other weapons towards the demons around the tower. Giles then stands in front of the picture we're all looking at and puts his hands together, gripping them tightly with a strong look on his face. Faith speaks up.

"But the girls might not want to fight." (Greek)

None of us understand what she's trying to say. She gets up and walks over next to Giles, pointing at the picture of the girls running at the demons and then waving her hands around like a baseball umpire saying a runner is safe. Giles looks at Faith and speaks with concern in his voice.

"Why not?" (German)

Faith doesn't understand but gets the idea when Giles shrugs his shoulders. The brunette slayer responds.

"They won't want to come because they could get killed." (Greek)

She points at the picture of the girls alone. Then she shakes her head saying no before pointing at the picture of the girls running towards the demons, followed by more shaking of her head. Faith sticks out one finger and pretends to slash her throat with it and points at the picture of the girls alone again.

 _This is insanely frustrating._

...


	5. Between Heaven and Hell

**Between Heaven and Hell**

A warm feeling washes over me unlike anything I've ever felt before.

 _Wow, that's incredible. How did that happen? Where am I? It almost feels like I'm wrapped in a blanket right out of the dryer or something. Why would I be wrapped in a blanket? I can't remember anything. What was I doing?_

I slowly open my eyes but there's some kind of white light shining in my eyes. It kinda hurts my eyes.

"Dawn?"

I shift around a bit with my eyes closed.

 _I'm lying down? Why am I lying down? Where ever I am, it feels like a nice place. I don't feel like I'm in danger or anything, which is good. I'm not sure why exactly, but I get the feeling that I wasn't, wherever I was before. But where was I before? It's all fuzzy, I can't remember._

"Dawn?"

 _Mom?_

I roll onto my side and curl up into a ball.

 _I'm not ready to wake up yet. I feel kinda like I was asleep before or something and I wanna go back to sleep._

"Honey, wake up."

My eyes open slowly again, this time the bright white light isn't in them so it doesn't hurt.

 _Wherever I am, it's seriously lacking in color. Everything's all white._

"Come on Dawn, wake up."

Rolling onto my back again once my eyes adjust to the light, I look up at the person who's been calling my name.

"Mom?"

"Yes honey, it's me."

 _Wait a second, how is my mom here?_

I squeeze my eyes shut and rub them to make sure I'm not dreaming.

"Mom?"

She just smiles back at me in that comforting way she does. I give her the once over and she's wearing a white one piece dress. It's a bright white.

 _I didn't know there were dresses out there that could be that white. Wait... she can't be here. Things are starting to come back to me. My mom died. She had a tumor and died from it. So how can she be standing in front of me? I... remember a, battle. There was something, it wanted to wipe out the slayer line. What was it? It had a name, The First. This must be The First._

"No..."

I back away from whatever it is and notice that I'm on a bed... a very soft bed, with white sheets and a white pillow. Looking around, I notice there are other beds with other people around, but they are all pretty far away.

 _What is this place?_

I look up at the sky and the white light stings my eyes again.

"You can't be here. You're not real. You're not my mom."

"Honey, please calm down."

"No, you're The First. What have you done? Where am I?"

She reaches out to me but I back away more.

"I'm not The First sweetie, everything's all right. You're safe here. Please calm down."

A familiar voice speaks up from behind me.

"You should listen to her Dawnie. She knows what she's talking about."

I turn my head and see Xander standing a few feet away. He's wearing a white t-shirt and white pants.

 _What the heck?_

"She always did."

Xander smiles at my mom happily and my mom smiles back.

"What's going on?"

"Honey... you should take a deep breath and calm down. You don't have to worry."

"Just answer the question. How can you be here? And where is here?"

"Dawn... I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but... this is heaven. You're dead."

...

 **Author's Note:** This was partly inspired by the Xena storyline where they were crucified and got involved in the angels versus demons fight.


	6. Flawed

**Flawed**

She struggles hopelessly against her bonds. Her slayer strength not enough to help her break free from her confines as she yells out in the desperate insanity that she's lived with most of her life.

 _All those terrible horrors running through her head, things I couldn't imagine even if I tried, and I've seen a lot of terrible things in my life. Some of the things in her head are real, others are made up. Some terrors are a mixture of both. I wish I could do something to help. I wish there was some way I could take away at least some of her terrors and help her find some kind of peace. But I can't._

 _There's nothing I can do to stop the things she's thinking about. Most of them were there long before I ever got involved. Long before the spell that activated her as a slayer and gave her the slayer dreams that must be tormenting her even worse now. All any of us can do now is keep her confined and hope that she doesn't break free. There's no telling what she would do if she got loose._

I watch painfully as she continues to struggle and scream in her delirium.

 _She was loose in Los Angeles for several days and it cost several lives to get her under control. Her mind is like broken shards of glass, she's liable to do anything if she gets loose and I don't know that any of us would be able to stop her without killing her. Thank god Andrew and the slayers we sent with him were able to convince Angel to hand her over peacefully. I hated giving the order to use force if necessary, but I had to make sure that Wolfram and Hart didn't get their hands on their very own slayer. There's no telling what they would do with her, or to her if they had unrestricted access to her._

 _I know Angel's trying to do good things with the power of Wolfram and Hart, but he's going about it all wrong. I used to hear stories about what a terrible place that was from him for years before Angel joined them. He used to talk about how they were working towards some big apocalypse and how he was doing everything he could to keep it from happening. It was a bit of a shock to find out that he'd made a deal with them to be their CEO._

 _He made it though, and now he's going to have to live with the consequences, whatever they are. All I can do is try and stay out of it and hope that he survives those consequences. No matter how much Faith might hate the idea. We had a big fight about it when the news first hit us that he was now working with Wolfram and Hart instead of fighting it. She wouldn't speak to me for a whole week once she realized I wasn't about to budge on the problem._

 _But we both knew that whether or not Angel had the best intentions when he made that decision, the people he was now working for were pure evil. He can't be trusted. Not unless he finds his way out of the deal somehow, but I don't think Wolfram and Hart will let him go easily. It's his problem though and he'll have to deal with it. We've got our own problems anyway. Like Dana. She needs constant supervision. We're taking shifts watching her, which is what I'm doing now._

The strange feeling I'm being watched comes over me and I twist my head to try and catch the shadow I see out of the corner of my eye.

 _What was that? I could've sworn that I saw someone. Or maybe it was some thing._

I stand up and scan the room to make sure I'm not being attacked. My feeling gets worse and I let my muscles wind themselves up to prepare for attack, but nothing comes.

 _That was weird. Maybe I'm just being paranoid because I'm sitting in a room with a crazy person in the middle of the night._

Slowly, I turn back to Dana and watch her pull on her bonds.

 _I just wish there was something I could do to help her._

...


	7. Addicted

**Addicted**

 _God, I really don't like vampires._

We walk into the night club and the temperature goes up ten degrees. Slowly, we make our way into the club, moving between the people dancing and talking around us.

 _Killing vampires is always a hassle. Whether they're newly risen or older than time itself, they're a problem. Either they don't know enough that they die too easily, or they know way too much and take forever to just give up and die already. There's never any in between place. It's annoying as hell. But, at least I'm not doing it on my own anymore. I have a whole army of slayers behind me, ready to back me up if I need it._

 _Or in tonight's case, give me some time off. I was out there earlier tonight, kicking the crap out of some vamps but I cut it short because there weren't too many out there. Most of them were newbies and not much of a challenge. So I let the other girls handle it. They need the experience more than I do. We had a new batch of slayers come in a few weeks ago and we've been training them ever since. It's been mostly sparring and other training exercises. Sooner or later they have to get their feet wet and get out there against an opponent that might actually kill them._

 _I don't see it happening though. The girls aren't allowed to go out on their own to slay for the first year or so. Either they go with someone or they don't go at all. Usually the new slayers go out in a group when they get to know each other a little. So I don't think there's any real danger. All I have to worry about tonight is having a good time at this new bar I felt like checking out._

 _So here I am, taking the night off. It feels so weird to just think that, me of all people, taking the night off. For seven years I fought tooth and nail to survive the night, it was almost impossible to take a night off and when I did it usually got ruined by some big bad. Not tonight though. After all this time I actually get to take a night off for actual fun and not worry about a thing. I almost don't want to believe it, but it's happening._

Faith and I finally make it to the bar and we wait for the bartender to take our order. She smiles at me while we relax.

 _Of course I can't just go out by myself. I'd look like a total loner and get hit on by every guy in the place, whether he was with someone or not. So I asked Faith to come with me. She and I have really become friends since Sunnydale. After the long speech she made about why we could never get along in Sunnydale, we actually managed to find a middle ground between us and stop hating each other. It's nice, having someone to talk to who actually understands the hell both of us went through as the Chosen Two._

 _These other girls, they'll have their problems. There'll be times when they're scared and alone and fighting for their life, but they'll always have someone to turn to when they need help. They'll have someone who can help them and understands them the way Faith and I never had. Which is really good, because I wouldn't wish what I used to have on anyone, and I'm betting that Faith feels pretty much the same way. We both had it rough, but thankfully that's over now._

"So B..."

Looking over at Faith, she smiles at me and I can't help but smile back.

"How does it feel, having the night off?"

"I dunno F, how does it feel for you?"

She kinda laughs at me.

"Hey I've taken plenty of nights off over the years. But you, little miss work-a-holic, I'm betting your nights off were few and far between."

All I do is shrug at her for a second.

"Yeah well, someone had to be out there stopping the apocalypse. It kinda took a lot of time and preparation."

"Uh-hun, I noticed that. That's why I never did much."

She nudges me with her shoulder.

"And hey look... now I don't have to, thanks to our cute little army of slayers that do all the heavy lifting."

I roll my eyes at her a little.

"You're welcome for that by the way."

Faith is about to hit me with a come back when the bartender interrupts.

"What can I get you ladies?"

We turn to him with smiles on our faces. Faith is the first to order.

"I think I'll have a rum and coke. What do you feel like B?"

 _Hmm, what do I want? I'd kinda like to let loose and have some fun. Maybe I'll have something a little different from my usual._

"I'll have a whiskey sour, on the rocks."

"Coming right up..."

He starts putting our drinks together and Faith looks at me with this weird look.

"What?"

"A whiskey sour? You? Really?"

"Yeah, what's it to you?"

She chuckles a little.

"Isn't that a little strong for you? I figured you'd want something lighter."

"News flash Faith, you don't know everything about me. Besides, I'm looking to have some fun."

The bartender hands us our drinks. Faith turns toward the dance floor and we watch the people on it for a second.

"Well it looks like we came to the right place to have some fun then. This place is jumping."

She takes a drink and I do the same. The taste hits me like a ton of bricks and I have to shake my head to keep my head from exploding.

 _Wow, this is one hell of a strong drink. Is it supposed to taste like that? I don't remember the drinks in Sunnydale having as much of a kick as this one. Then again, the Bronze used to water down their alcohol to keep the younger customers from getting too drunk. I guess this is how it tastes when the bartender doesn't care if you go home drunk or not._

"You okay B?"

A strange buzzing feeling comes over me and I have to shake my head again to think straight.

I don't remember ever feeling this buzzed before, but it's a good kind of buzz so I don't think I care.

"Mhmm, just enjoying my drink is all."

"All right... then let's have some fun."

...


	8. Split Screen

**Split Screen**

 **Author's Note:** I have a couple different ideas centered around the season 5 finale, I'm not sure why but I think it's cool to play with that. Hopefully you guys don't take issue with a different take on what could've happened. 

* * *

_It's perfect._

We stand on the hill, watching the sunset over the horizon together.

 _It's absolutely perfect. Just the way she would've always wanted the world to be. All over the world, there's peace and love. No demons, no hellmouth, nothing creeping in the shadows waiting to jump out and cause another apocalypse._

My thoughts choke me up a little as I watch the light of the sun slowly disappear.

 _Everything is the way it should be, because of what she did. If she hadn't done what she did and saved the world, none of this ever would've happened. None of us would be as happy as we are right now. With no demons to fight and no evil trying to destroy the world, we can all just get on with our lives. Willow and Tara are back together and happy. Xander and Anya got married and are now happy as can be living in their new house on Jordan Street. Giles moved back to England a few months after it happened and was doing well last time I talked to him._

 _And me, I'm happy... as happy as I can be under the circumstances anyway. Willow and Tara moved into the house to take care of me until I can take care of myself. They've been really great. It hasn't been easy moving on since it happened, but they've done everything humanly possible to make my life better. And it is. I can be okay. Knowing that what happened created this incredible new world that we live in._

I look down at the grave standing in front of us and a tear stings my cheek.

 _If only Buffy had lived to see it. She would've loved it. I still remember the last words she said to me before it happened, almost like it was yesterday._

Closing my eyes, I can almost picture her face when she looked at me.

 _"Dawnie I have to."_

 _I didn't want her to, but I knew I couldn't stop her._

 _"No!"_

 _"Listen to me. Please there's not a lot of time. Listen."_

 _Sobs wrack my body and I feel like I'm going to fall apart._

 _"Dawn listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love you. This is the work that I have to do. Tell Giles that... tell Giles I figured it out and, and I'm okay. Give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world, is to live in it. Be brave, live... for me."_

 _Except the world isn't quite as horrible as it was when she said that, she made sure of that. Buffy jumped off that tower and made the world a better place. You could almost call it paradise compared to what came before. All the vampires and demons roaming around in this town made it a dangerous place to live. But that's not a problem anymore thanks to her._

Looking over at the people around me, I watch the sad faces of Willow, Tara, Anya and Xander.

 _That's why we're here though. To remember her for the sacrifice she made for us, and for the world. Other people might not know what she did, but we do, so we come here once a month, sometimes twice, to honor my sister. She deserves to be honored for what she did._

We stand together and watch the last few rays of sunshine disappear from the sky, bathing the world in a darkness that used to fill me with fear and uncertainty once upon a time. Suddenly, a cold wind blows a shiver of absolute fear through me. I look to the other people with me and I know that they all feel it too. None of us say anything, but we all know it's there.

 _Something's coming. Something terrible and worse than anything we've ever seen before. And we have no one to protect us when it comes. For now, all we can do is wait... and hope that it doesn't kill us._

...


	9. Wonderland

**Wonderland**

My vision is blurry as I wake up and feel the hard ground beneath me. The grass is sharp and uncomfortable.

 _Why am I lying on the grass? Am I outside or something?_

Rubbing my eyes, I'm able to focus more and I notice where I am.

 _I am outside. How did I get here? The last thing I remember, I was… okay, I don't exactly remember, but I don't think I was outside. I've never been a big outdoors-y person. I'd much rather be inside watching a movie and eating popcorn. So how did I get out here in the woods?_

I look around at all the trees around me and realize how weird this is.

 _The middle of the woods from the looks of it, I don't see any kind of clearings or buildings or anything nearby. And I don't hear any cars on a highway or anything. This can't be a good thing. Obviously something weird is going on, if only I knew what it was that's happening. It wasn't a patrol night, I think I remember that much. So there's no reason why I should've been walking through the middle of the woods at night. Not that it's night now, I think it's morning._

I sit up on the ground and focus on the thick trees above my head.

 _It's hard to see through the leaves for some reason, but I can see enough to know that there's sunshine seeping through them._

Suddenly, I hear someone groaning next to me and I look down to see Faith stirring on the ground.

 _Oh thank god, at least I'm not alone._

"Faith? Faith, are you all right?"

When I reach out to her, I touch her arm and a cold shiver of fear runs through me like I've never felt before. Instantly, I pull back but the feelings linger for a few moments before finally going away.

 _What the heck was that?_

Faith opens her eyes finally and looks up at me, slightly confused.

"B? Is that you?"

For a second, all I can is nod at her before responding.

"Yeah, it's me. Are you okay?"

She rubs her eyes and sits up on the ground next to me. Then I watch her look around at where we are.

"I think so... but where are we?"

 _She doesn't remember?_

"You don't know?"

Our eyes meet for a while and I can see her try to remember but she has about as much luck as I did.

"Nope..."

"Well, I don't either."

Again she looks around at our surroundings.

"That's great, because it looks like we're in the woods."

 _Wow, what gave her that idea?_

"Gee, thanks for the heads up Ms. States the Obvious. I don't think I would've figured that out."

We both start to get up and dust ourselves off. I notice that we both have all our clothes on, giving me a reason to sigh in relief.

 _At least I'm not naked in the woods with Faith. That's a little more than I could handle right now._

"So are you okay B?"

"Uh, yeah I think so. Except for waking up in the middle of the woods with no idea how I got here, I'm peachy."

She laughs at me.

"And you call me the obvious one? Welcome to the club B."

I ignore her comment and look around at the trees in every direction.

"So, how do you like the plan that we start looking for a way out of these woods and back to civilization?"

"Not a bad plan. Do you want to split up and send a search party for the other when one of us makes it back or you wanna stay together, strength and numbers and all that?"

Like she even has to ask?

"I'll take option number two, F."

"That works for me. Which way do you wanna head?"

My eyes search the immediate area to see if I can get some idea of a direction, and then look up to see if I can get an idea of where the sun is in the sky.

"Not a clue."

Faith chuckles at me.

"Good leadership skills B."

"Shut up."

Suddenly, there's a rustling in a nearby bush and we both turn towards it, ready to attack whatever is there. Out of the bush comes a bunny, hopping along and sniffing for food. Both of us relax at the false alarm.

"Thank god it wasn't a demon or something. I don't know if I wanna be killing anything in the middle of the woods like this."

 _I know what she means._

"Yeah, me neither."

Something strange about the bunny catches my eye and I step forward quietly to figure out what it is.

"What is it B?"

 _Oh my god, this is nuts._

"Faith, look at the bunny."

"What?"

I point at the bunny as I look at Faith.

"It's wearing a little jacket. There's a bunny in the middle of the woods and it's wearing a jacket. Doesn't that seem a little strange to you?"

"Well, yeah, but it's not exactly life threatening B."

Looking back at the bunny, I notice it standing up on its hind legs. It reaches into the pocket of the jacket and pulls out something gold and shiny.

 _Is that a pocket watch? It is. It's a pocket watch._

"Faith, it's got a pocket watch."

"Yeah, and?"

"What the hell does a bunny need to tell time for? It's a bunny."

"Again, not really life threatening B..."

 _How can she not know about this?_

"Come on Faith, didn't you ever read about fairy tales when you were a kid. We're in the middle of the woods and there's a white rabbit with a pocket watch. That doesn't remind you of anything?"

She looks at me like I've grown a second head.

"B, fairy tales are make-believe. They aren't real. Just because there's a rabbit in the woods with a pocket watch doesn't mean we're in a weird fantasy world. Get real."

Then she starts heading towards the rabbit.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna catch the little thing."

"Why?"

"Well, if we can't catch it, the rabbit might lead us back to whoever put the little coat on it. If we do catch it, then we have dinner in case we're stuck out in the woods for a couple days. Now come on..."

She keeps moving towards the rabbit and I decide to follow her... and the white rabbit.

...


	10. Crossfire

**Crossfire**

My heart beats faster with every step we take together. Keeping our eyes open for what we know will probably come. Every one of my senses is on high alert, hoping to catch them before they catch us. She hurries ahead of me a few steps, taking the lead towards our ultimate destination. Suddenly, something jumps out at us from behind a corner. Without a word, she grabs the vamp, punches him in the face and throws him against the nearest wall.

The vamp is stunned by the impact of hitting the wall and that leaves me with the opportunity to raise my stake and slam it home into his chest. He quickly explodes into a pile of dust. We don't have time to stop and celebrate though because we know it's not the end of this mission by a long shot. Doing as much as possible to keep the same pace as before, the two of us race down the dark and dank alleyway to the factory we're heading to.

"We'll never take them all."

 _Why does she have to be so negative all the time? It's really killing the good time I'm having._

Another figure jumps out of the shadows at us and I throw it against the opposite wall of the alley. Kicking him as hard as I can in the stomach, I knock the wind out of him long enough to keep him where he is. Much like I did a second ago, she thrusts her stake into his heart. He explodes into a pile of dust like the other one and we continue on our way to the factory.

"They keep coming one at a time like this we got a shot."

Buffy grabs the next blood-sucker to come at us out of the shadows and throws him against a nearby dumpster. The second I see him I don't think and just attack, straightening him out long enough against the dumpster to do my job.

"Faith, no!"

 _Her words don't stop me as I'm already plunging my stake deep into his heart. It's only a second later that I realize he's not turning to dust and I pull my stake out of him. Buffy immediately rushes to his side to help him. Looking down at my hand I see blood on it, my heartbeat going into overdrive when I panic._

I sit up in bed with a start. Sweat drips down my face and I can't catch my breath with my heart racing the way it is.

 _Oh god... I hate those dreams._

Running a shaky hand through my hair, I try to calm down.

 _Why do I keep having them? I haven't had them since I left LA to fight in Sunnydale. Even after we left the smoking hole in the ground that used to be a town, I haven't had them. Now suddenly I'm having them every night, and they won't stop. They scare the crap out of me every time. That didn't happen before. When I had them in jail, I learned to be okay with them because I was doing my time and paying for what I did. That's not happening anymore._

"Faith?"

She sits up next to me in bed and our eyes meet.

"Are you okay?"

My voice shakes slightly as I respond.

"Yeah, I'm fine B."

My girl looks me over with concern.

"No you're not, you're shaking."

Buffy puts her arms around me and pulls her to me. The warmth of her skin is comforting. Our eyes stay locked on each other's for a few moments on our bed.

"What's wrong baby?"

All I can do is look at her as she reaches up and caresses my face gently.

"Did you have the dream again?"

Dropping my gaze from hers, I let my breathing slow down gradually.

"It's all right B."

"It's not all right Faith. I can't stand to see what this is doing to you. We need to get some kind of help."

That has me bringing my gaze back up to hers.

"I can handle this. I don't need help."

She leans forward slightly and combs my hair back behinds my right here.

"Faith, you've been having these dreams for a while now. It's gotten so bad that it's happening every night. At the very least you need to talk to someone about the fact that it's been happening. Maybe if we talk to Giles..."

"No, I can't talk to Giles about this."

"He might be able to help."

She won't let this go. It's one of the most frustrating things about her that I love so much.

"I don't need his help B."

Reaching up with my own hand, I cup her cheek lovingly and pull our lips together into a kiss. The kiss is soft and passionate. We break apart after a while.

"I can get through this. All I need is you and I can get through anything."

She smiles at me lovingly.

"That's very sweet of you to say baby, even if it is a load of crap."

I pull away from her as I groan in frustration.

"It's not a load of crap B, I really can handle this."

She stays silent for a few moments as she stares at me.

"What about Angel? You're always talking about how he understands what you're going through. Maybe you just need to talk to someone who knows what you're feeling."

After taking a couple deep breaths, I look into Buffy's eyes and know that I can't turn her down.

"All right, if it will make you feel better, we can talk to Giles in the morning."

Her smile widens at my concession.

"Thank you Faith... you won't regret this."

She pulls me to her harder, kissing me on the cheek. Leaning my head forward, I kiss her on the lips ever so slightly.

"I better not."

...


	11. Beyond The Fray

**Beyond the Fray**

Swinging with every ounce of strength in me, the blade of my weapon slices the demon's head open and cuts it in half. He falls to the ground in a heap, his brains spilling out onto the ground with him. I stand over him, frozen at the end of my swing as I catch my breath as much as I can.

"Good job sis..."

Her voice has me tearing my eyes away from the dead demon to look at her.

"Thanks..."

She smiles as she makes her way over to me now that the major danger is over. Finally, I relax enough to take one hand off my weapon and reach behind me for my demon puss towel. With the towel in hand, I start to wipe the demon brains off my blade. My sister looks down at the dead demon on the ground.

"You think it was Harth?"

The sound of his name still stings deep in my heart. I don't look at her as I respond in a low voice.

"Probably... who else wants me dead so badly?"

There's a long pause of silence between us because of my statement. Before she responds, she looks up at me again.

"It's not him, you know that."

My eyes stay on the blade while I wipe the last of the brains off my blade with a pointed swipe.

"Yeah, I'll just keep telling myself that."

Some of the brains fly off the blade and hit her.

"Ugh, geez, Mel... did you have to do that?"

A laugh escapes me as I look at Erin wiping the excess brains off her face with her sleeve.

"Hey, I've told you before to stay out of my way when I'm cleaning my blade."

She glares at me disapprovingly while she keeps wiping.

"Mhmm or you could just be a little more considerate after your kills."

Quickly, I turn away from her and start walking away.

"Gotta say E, I don't really see that happening any time soon."

Erin follows me while we make our way back to our place. Putting my towel in my back pocket again, I check the blade of my scythe to make sure that it's still sharp.

Not that it ever gets dull. It never gets dull, it never breaks, and it slices through ten inches of solid steel like butter. That was a fun day when I tested that out. Wherever the hell Urkonn got this thing, it obviously had some damn good craftsmanship to it.

"Yeah well, if you weren't so freakishly strong, I'd kick your butt for that."

"It's too bad I'm a freak then."

She comes up to walk next to me.

"I didn't say you were a freak, just freakishly strong."

"I know, I said I was a freak."

We walk along in silence for a while together. Then she breaks it.

"Hey, you've got brains on your leg."

Looking down where she's pointing, I notice the last of that demon's brains running down my leg.

Damn it...

I pull my towel out of my back pocket and stop in the middle of the sidewalk, wiping it off my exposed calf. Suddenly, a weird feeling comes over me. The kind of feeling I've never felt before.

"You okay Mel?"

Our eyes meet and for a split second I think I see someone else. Then I blink and it's the same old Erin. Shaking my head a little, it makes the feeling go away.

"Uh, yeah... I'm good. I'm... five by five?"

My sister looks at me strangely.

"Five by five, what does that mean?"

What does it mean?

All I can do is shrug.

"I don't really know, it just seemed like the thing to say."

We stare at each other for a moment.

"I was wrong, you are a freak."

Both of us kinda chuckle and then start walking again.

...


	12. Buffy Darko

**Buffy Darko**

Buffy Summers lies in her bed in the middle of the night. She is sleeping peacefully. The whole house is doing the same. Then, off in the distance, a faint whisper rings out through Buffy's window.

"Buffy..."

Buffy stirs slightly but stays asleep. The voice calls out to her again.

"Buffy..."

She opens her eyes, still half sleeping, and looks around, not sure she heard anything. Buffy is about to put her head back down on the pillow but the voice whispers to her again.

"Buffy..."

She sits up in her bed slowly and looks around the room. Her room is empty. There isn't a thing in the room that could be calling out to her.

"Buffy... it's coming..."

The young slayer looks to her window and slowly gets up out of her bed.

"It's coming Buffy..."

She moves closer to the window as the voice continues to call out. Buffy reaches the window and stares absently out of it.

"Buffy..."

After a long while of silence, Buffy starts walking towards her bedroom door. Leaving her room, she makes her way to the stairs and goes down to the first floor of her house. Still in her pajamas, Buffy goes right up to the front door and leaves.

"It's coming..."

Clumsily, Buffy stumbles through the grass still in a half asleep daze. That strange whispering voice is still calling out to her.

"It's coming Buffy..."

Buffy stops in the middle of the field as something comes out of the darkness suddenly.

"You have to be ready, because it's coming..."

Almost as if it's the most natural thing in the world, the young slayer lifts her arm and there are numbers written in some kind of marker on her skin. The numbers read 32991321. She looks at the figure about 20 feet away from her and it's a giant black bunny. It speaks in the same voice that's been calling out to her all this time.

"It's coming Buffy, be ready..."

Then her eyes roll back in her head and she passes out.

...


	13. Acceptance

**Acceptance**

 **Author's Note:** This is the beginning of a spinoff idea I had for She Who Was My Love. If you've read up to the latest chapters, you'll get what's going on. If not, well, SPOILERS!

The sun shines brightly in the sky and the slight breeze blows on my face. Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly and enjoy myself as I walk down the street.

 _I feel good. It hasn't been easy, but for the first time in a long time I actually feel good, about myself and about my life. All those years I spent in Sunnydale trying to fight evil and save the world, it was like living through hell. No matter how much I might believe in helping others and doing what's right, doing it all the time was killing me. Especially when every time I tried to do the right thing and save the world, I lost something._

 _When Buffy first came to Sunnydale, I lost Xander to her. He was just so obsessed with how he felt about her that he never even tried to notice me and how I felt about him. After a while though, I managed to get over that and I found Oz. A guy who really wanted to be with me and cared about me the way I cared about him. But even he eventually left me because of Buffy._

 _It's because of her that he became a werewolf, and that instilled in him a sense of morality that eventually made him leave me. I wanted him to stay and work on the problems that we were having when he slept with that bitch Veruca. Even though he cheated on me I was still willing to give him a chance and hope that we could work things out. But because of Buffy he had to be so moral that looking at me made him feel guilty being around me. So he left, instead of trying to work things out. If Buffy hadn't been around we might have been able to work things out and maybe we'd still be together today._

 _We're not though, and most of the reason for that is Buffy. Not that Buffy is the cause of all my problems. There were things that I could've done to try and get Xander to notice me. There were things I could've done to get Oz to stay, but the only ones that I could think of at the time were magic related, and I wouldn't have wanted him to stay if I made him do it. And I didn't have the confidence to wear something sexy to get Xander to notice me._

 _That's not the worst of it though. That's not the reason why I left Sunnydale. No, that reason doesn't belong to just Buffy either. It belongs to Buffy and the woman she calls the love of her life, Faith. They're both to blame for why I left. If it hadn't been for them I might still be living in Sunnydale and happier. Without them, I probably wouldn't have had to spend the last 6 months of my life getting over the love of my life and trying to find a way to be almost normal._

 _All because of that damn spell, I never should've performed it. That damn spell ruined everything for me. I thought it was the right thing to do at the time. She was just so torn up over losing Buffy. She tried to kill herself for god sakes. You don't do that if you're going to get over someone. I couldn't not do something to help her. So I went against every instinct in me and did it. And it cost me everything that meant something to me. It cost me Tara._

 _God, Tara..._

I watch the sidewalk in front of my feet as I keep walking through the crowded city streets.

 _Without the spell to bring Buffy back from the dead, Tara and I would still be together now. We'd still be in love. If I hadn't forced her to do the spell with me she wouldn't have realized that how wrong her feelings for me were. She wouldn't have figured out that it was because she loved me that she went against every single instinct and rule there is in magic to perform it with me._

 _None of that matters now though. It doesn't matter because it's over now. We did do the spell and she did realize what a problem our relationship was. There's nothing I can do about it now, and I wouldn't want to if I could. What's done is done and I've moved on. I've moved on from her, and from Sunnydale. I'm here now and I'm happy, in one of the greatest cities in America and living on my own._

As I'm walking, I lift my head up when I hear a collision. Through the mass of people moving out of the way, someone drops the bags they were carrying and the contents spill out onto the sidewalk. Not one person stops to help her pick it up.

 _Why do people have to be so terrible?_

Going over there, I kneel down a couple feet away and start helping her.

"Here let me help you."

Then I hear something I never thought I'd hear again.

"T-thanks... I... I appreciate... it."

 _No, no it couldn't be..._

"Tara?"

We meet eyes and I feel like I just got hit with a Mack truck.

"Willow?"

...


	14. Fractured

**Fractured**

 **Author's Note:** So this is my one and only attempt at a crossover idea that I had once upon a time. Not the show that is being crossed over with, but it felt right to say it that way. I have since come up with a new idea thanks to one of my readers suggesting it. Neither of the shows in this one is involved.

* * *

She looks out onto the horizon as the world comes to an end below us. All of the sudden it's like a blissful calm comes over her. It's almost as if she knows what to do. She turns back to me and I can see the look in her eyes. I just know that whatever it is, I'm not going to like it. Fresh tears start to sting my eyes as she looks at me lovingly.

"Buffy, no..."

My sister reaches up and cradles my cheek with her hand.

"Dawnie I have to."

I can't let her do this.

"No!"

"Listen to me. Please there's not a lot of time. Listen."

Sobs wrack my body and I feel like I'm going to fall apart.

"Dawn listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love you. This is the work that I have to do. Tell Giles that... tell Giles I figured it out and, and I'm okay. Give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world, is to live in it. Be brave, live... for me."

She looks into my eyes and I know there's nothing I can do to stop her, even if I might want to. After a few moments, she leans in and kisses my cheek. We stare into each other's eyes again, nothing but pure love staring back at me. She turns and starts to run towards the end of the tower. But then, I hear it. A strange whirring noise comes out of nowhere. It's everywhere. You can't not hear it, it's too loud. Buffy stops halfway to the end of the tower and looks back at me.

"Buffy? What's going on?"

She looks around, and so do I. Suddenly, the tower and everything around us shakes. It shakes so badly that I grab onto the nearest bar to steady myself. Buffy... I reach out to Buffy from where I am.

"Buffy!"

Buffy tries to move but the tower is shaking so much. She gets about halfway to me, but the end of tower comes apart. We both fall off the tower as we hear one big boom. Buffy and I hit each other as we go tumbling through the air and I feel her arms wrapped tightly around me. All of the sudden, my body starts to tingle. It gets so bad that it almost feels like I'm on fire and I scream at the sensation, even though all around me feels like I'm swimming in cold water.

The wind is knocked out of me as we hit the ground with a thud, me on top of Buffy. Ow! I can't move for a few moments as the fire and water sensations slowly go away. When I finally feel almost normal I lift my head up and open my eyes to look around. Everything looks the same, except for the fact that I feel a little different. Looking down at my sister, I realize that everything's not the same. She's changed. Her skin is a lot paler, and there's a scar on the left side of her face that wasn't there before. What the heck happened?

"Buffy?"

She moves under me and a huge sense of relief washes over me. Thank god she's okay.

"Buffy, are you okay?"

She squirms a little more before opening her eyes.

"Of course I'm okay, why the hell wouldn't I be o...?"

Our eyes meet and she suddenly gets this very angry look in her eyes. Oh no... She shoves me off her and I land a few feet away. I look up, and she's already standing in a fighting stance.

"Who the hell are you? And what were you doing on top of me?"

She doesn't remember? Why doesn't she remember?

"Buffy, it's me. It's Dawn."

"I don't know anyone named Dawn. I work alone. If you're grateful that I saved you then that's fine, but there's no need to get all touchy feel-y about it."

She glares at me suspiciously.

"Buffy, you have to try and remember. I'm your sister... Dawn."

"Nice try whoever you are, but I don't have a sister. And I don't have any other family either so don't bother trying to convince me of that."

"Buffy, please... I don't understand what's going on. I need your help."

Just then, a strange British voice interrupts.

"I believe I may be able to help with that."

I look over to where the voice comes from and so does Buffy. There's a tall dark haired man standing a few feet away and a young woman just behind him. He's wearing a leather jacket and leather pants. He looks a lot like Spike only he's kind've going bald and his hair is naturally black, or I think it is anyway. The woman behind him is blonde with fair skin and deep brown eyes. She's at least about a foot shorter than the man and dressed a little better. Buffy decides to speak up first.

"Who, or what, are you?"

He smiles happily at Buffy despite the fact that she's still in attack mode.

"I'm The Doctor."

The Doctor?

"The Doctor of what? And Doctor Who?"

Turning his attention to me, he continues to smile.

"Yes..."

What?

...


End file.
